An artist's impression of what the new incinerator at Newhurst Quarry in Shepshed would look like.

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A NEW company is set to take over the development of an incinerator off the M1 between Shepshed and Loughborough after entering into a commercial partnership with Biffa.

After permission for the Energy Recovery Facility located at the former Newhurst Quarry site, off Ashby Road, was initially refused by Leicestershire County Council, Biffa was granted approval by the Secretary of State in June 2012.

In July this year, the company submitted a planning variation application to enable it to process up to 350,000 tonnes per year of waste as fuel, up from 300,000 tonnes, to generate 33MW of power, up from 21MW.

Biffa has now signed an exclusivity agreement with Multifuel Energy Ltd (MEL) - which is a joint venture partnership between SSE plc and Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. - to work together to deliver the project.

This new deal would see MEL taking over the development of the facility and progressing the project forward through to the detailed design and construction phases.

Biffa will be supplying a proportion of fuel to the Energy Recovery Facility from its waste collection services around the Midlands.

It will also work with MEL to secure additional fuel supply agreements for the remaining capacity of the plant.

Biffa says the £250m investment project is expected to create around 40 full-time jobs when completed.

It also expects several hundred jobs to be available during the three-year construction period and more still through contractors and suppliers over the plant’s life.

“Together we will combine our industry leading experience in sustainable waste management and energy generation and help deliver the sort of modern energy infrastructure the area and the country needs.”

Wheelabrator Technologies’ project manager, Chris Ratcliffe, added: “This is a significant milestone for all parties and moves the Newhurst project another step closer to fruition.

“With an exclusivity agreement now in place, Multifuel Energy Ltd are looking forward to working with Biffa and moving the scheme into the construction phase, with the plan to be fully operational by 2018/2019.”

For more information and updates on the Energy Recovery Facility, visit the website www.biffa.co.uk/waste-processing/energy-from-waste/newhurst-efw.html